Machine for grading and separating grain.



No. 880,911. PATENTED MAR. 3, 1908.

. W. W. PATTERSON. MACHINE FOR GRADING AND SEPARATING GRAIN.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22. 1907.

3 SHEETSSHEET lv Witt lanes I v No; 380,911. PATENTED MAR. 3, 1908. W. W.'PATTERSON.

MACHINE FOR GRADING AND SEPARATING GRAIN.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22. 1907.

SHEETS-SHBET z.

Witnesses No. 880,911. PATENTED MAR. s, 1908.

W. W. PATTERSON.

MACHINE FOR GRADING AND SBPARATING GRAIN.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22. 1907.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

A Pi J' z\ 45 33 7/ /0, 4 5 v 1 if i I I Q/Vihwmm UNITED STATES 'PATEN Fl.

MACHINE FOR GRADING AND SEPARATING GRAIN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 3, 1908.

Application filed May 22, 1907. Serial No. 375,139.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM W. PATTER- soN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fairview, in the county of Woods, State of Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Grading and Separating Grain; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. I

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in machines for grading and separating grain and it has particular reference to a machine of that type which includes a plurality of superposed rotatable screens or riddles, the mesh of which successively increases in fineness from the uppermost to the lowermost riddle throughout the series.

More particularly the invention comprises in combination with riddles a blower fan for separating the material of too great size to work through the meshes'of the screen.

In connection with a machine of the above type the invention aims as a primary object to provide a novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, the details of which will appear in the course of the following description, in which reference is had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, like characters of reference designating similar parts throughout the several views, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine constructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is an elevation showing one-half of the machine casing constituting a door in its open position and showing more particularly the details of the operative parts within said casing. Fig. 3 is a central longi tudinal section through the casing showing the arrangement of the correlated parts. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the upper distributing plate employed in connection with the supporting riddles, the lower distributing plate being a substantial duplicate thereof, and Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of one of the riddles showing abutments provided at the edge thereof, for forcing material through the adjacent discharging spout.

Referring specifically to the accompany ing drawings, the numeral 1 designates a skeleton supporting frame which rests upon legs 2 and which is formed with opposed vertical standards 3. An open ended casing 4 is supported from the standards 3. The casing 4 is constituted of semi-cylindrical sections 5 and 5 having top plates 6 formed with central recesses 7 and with recesses 7 on each side thereof, whichregister in the assembled relation of said sections to form complete openings. The sections 5 along one edge thereof, are connected by hinge joints 8, and along the other edges thereof, are held together by suitably constructed catches 9. The standards 3 above said section support a hopper 10 of inverted cone-shape which communicates with the opening afforded by the recesses 7. The communication is controlled by sliding valves 11 operate by stems 12 threaded through clips 12. A draft tube 13 is suspended from the hopper 10 centrally thereof, and projects slightly through the recesses 7, terminating above a distributing plate to be described later. The standards 3 at their upper ends are united bya transverse bar 14, which is preferably removably connected therewith and which is formed with a central bearing 15. The frame 1 is formed with a similar constructed central bearing 16. A vertical shaft 17 is journaled in the bearings 15 and 16 against axial displacement and projects through the tube 13.

The casing 4 incloses the operative parts of the invention which are constituted of the rotatable sieves, rotatable distributing plates and stationary deflectors of inverted cone shape. The shaft 17 carries slightly below the lower end of the tube 13 a distributing plate 18 which is formed with radially extending raised ribs or projections 19 and which are of less diameter than the casing 4 so that an annular space is afforded, which communicates with a fan casing. The latter is constructed of the top plate 6 above noted and ofan annular wall 20 carried by the section 5. The wall 20 is of course open ended. The distributing plate 18 is formed with a plurality of radially extending wings 21 arranged at equi-distant intervals and which constitute vanes of a blow fan. Beneath the fan thus constructed the shaft 17 carries a plurality of spaced horizontal bars 22, which are fast on said shaft. Each of the bars 22 supports semi-disk shaped foraminous plates 23 which are arranged in opposed pairs, the members of each pair conjointly constituting a screen, and as above noted the screens are arranged in spaced superposed relation and their mesh increases successively in fineness from the uppermost to the lowermost thereof. The section 5 of the casing is formed adjacent each of the screens thus constructed with discharge spouts 24 from which the various grades of material are blown out of the casing. The plates 23 are of a diameter to snugly fit the interior of the casing, and adjacent their outer edges are constructed with abutments 25 which afford valves, as it were, to force the material through the spouts 24. The section 5 is provided beneath the uppermost screen and beneath the successive screens, with the exception of the lowermost, with open ended deflectors 26 of inverted cone-shape, and similar in construction to the wall 20, which also partakes of the function of a deflector. Beneath the lowermost screen the shaft 17 carries a distributing plate 27 similar in construction to the plate 18 above described but carrying an abutment 25 for cooperation with aspout 24 provided adjacent thereto.

It is preferred to construct the screens in sections in order that easier access may be had thereto for the purposes of cleaning or repairs, it being understood that the plates are detachably connected to their supporting bars 22. If desired, the plates 18 and 27 may be similarly constructed and connected to supporting bars, but it is not deemed necessary to show such construction as a feature of the invention. The shaft 17 carries on its projecting'lower end a bevel pinion 28, which is driven from a similar pinion 29 carried on the end of a horizontal shaft 30, the latter being supported in bracket bearings 31 depending from the frame 1, and likewise being journaled in one of the legs 2. The shaft 30 carries on its outer end a sprocket wheel 32, and a larger sprocket wheel 33 is carried on a stub shaft 34 journaled in the upper end of the standard 3 in' which the shaft 30 is journaled, the shaft 34 being rotated by a crank handle 35. The shaft 30 is driven from the-shaft 34 by a sprocket chain 36 which is trained over the sprocket wheels 33 and 32. When the apqparatus is employed in connection wit a threshing machine, a pulley is substituted for the sprocket wheel 32, and the gear elements for driving the shaft 30 are eliminated as will be readily understood.

The manner of use will be readily apparent from the foregoing description. The grain to be graded gravitates into the machine through the openings afforded by the recesses 7 from the hopper 10, the valves 11 controlling the feed thereof. The fan constructed as previously described and revolving with the rapidly rotating shaft 17 creates a current of air throughout the casing. 'The finer particles of extraneous matter mixed with the grain and which are not readily susceptible to the influence of gravity are discharged by the air currents through a spout 37 provided in the section 5 and leading from the fan casing. The material which is too heavy to be influenced by the currents within the fan casing is deflected by the wall 20 upon the uppermost screen which separates the coarsest grains, the latter being discharged by the air currents through the uppermost spout 24. The material which works through the meshes of the uppermost screen is guided by the deflector 26 central upon the lowermost screen and the operation above noted is repeated, the grains being successively graded according to their size by the several screens, of which four 'are arbitrarily shown. The finest material works out of the lowermost spout 24 from the distributing plate 27 which is of the same diameter as the screens.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that simple and efficient means are provided for accomplishing the objects of the invention, but, while the elements herein shown and described are well adapted to serve the function set forth, it is obvious that various minor changes may be made in the proportions, shape, and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1- A machine of the type set forth comprising a casing, a hopper communicating therewith, a draft tube leading thereinto, a vertical shaft extending through said casing, means for rotating said shaft, spaced superposed screening plates carried upon said shaft, deflectors of inverted cone shape carried by said casing beneath said screening plates, spouts leading from said casing above each of said screening plates, a distributing plate carried by said shaft above the uppermost of said screens, a blower arranged in said casing below said distributing plate and communicating with said draft tube, said fan including a stationary casing and rotatable vanes, said hopper communicating with said fan casing and with the uppermost of said screens, a rotatable distributing plate carried by said shaft below the lowermost of said screens, and spouts in said casing arranged above said distributing plates.

2. A machine of the type set forth comprising a casing, a ho per communicating therewith, a draft tu e leading centrally thereinto, a vertical shaft extending into said casing, means for rotatin said shaft, spaced superposed screening plates carried upon said shaft, a distributing plate carried by said shaft above the uppermost of said fiector, said distributing plate being of less screening plates, deflectors of inverted cone diameter than said casing.

shape arranged below said distributing plate In testimony whereof, I affix my signaand each of said screening. plates and surture, in presence of two witnesses.

rounding said shaft in spaced relation, and WILLIAM WT. PATTERSON. vanes carried by and depending from said Witnesses: distributing plate and working in the space H. W. HAMILTON,

between said distributing plate and said de- J. S. HAMILTON. 

